Matthew 18:1-35

What is the theme of this chapter?

Humility — illustrated in childlike faith, concern for the lost, discipline, and forgiveness.

What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verses 2-3

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?

I should freely forgive others in response to what Christ has already done for me. 

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Eph 4:32).

Under law (see Matt 18:35), a person forgives others and then is forgiven by God. Under grace (see Eph 4:32), we are forgiven in Christ and our response should be to forgive others. This makes it no less important, and in fact, if we live by grace, makes it much easier to do."

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”


"Peter returned to the question of forgiveness and asked the Lord in Matthew 18:21, 'Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?' The old Jewish teaching was that three times was enough, based on Amos 1:3 and 2:6. Pete was attempting to be generous in doubling the usual limit of forgiveness." (Walvoord)

"The rabbis said to forgive three times, so Peter thought he was being exceptionally worthy by suggesting seven times." (Ryrie)

ten thousand talents - a huge amount, equal to millions of dollars in today's money

"A talent was a measure of weight varying in size from about 75 lbs (34 kg).  It was used to weigh precious metals." (Ryrie)

forgave = cancelled

a hundred denarii - a small amount, equal to $10-$20 in today’s money

"A hundred days' wages, a trifling sum in comparison [to a talent]." (Ryrie)

"Peter had to recognize that he was totally incapable of paying the debt that he owed to God. Peter, then, was represented by the man with the insurmountable indebtedness. But God had freely forgiven Peter all of his indebtedness. Peter, then, was obligated to forgive others who may have wronged him but whose wrong was a mere pittance in comparison with the wrong he had done to God and for which he had received forgiveness." (Pentecost)

"The commentaries either say that this parable is referring to Christians who, if they don’t forgive, will not lose their salvation but will be punished; or, that the servant who didn’t forgive was never really saved in the first place. Both these explanations show the problems that crop up when we try to apply portions of Scripture to ourselves that aren’t intended to be applied to us. The Lord was talking about the kingdom. He says so clearly in verse 23. During the kingdom, a person who doesn’t forgive will not be forgiven. Period. This is a carryover from the law, as the Lord explained in His Sermon on the Mount: 'For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.'

"If this seems impossible to live up to, that is the whole point. The law was given to show that all men are sinners. So how can anybody live up to this, even in the kingdom? But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Jeremiah 31:33).

"The parable was not intended to be applied to us today. Yes, we should forgive, but as a response to what Christ has already done for us. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).

"Under law, a person forgives others and then is forgiven by God. Under grace, we are forgiven in Christ and our response should be to forgive others. This makes it no less important, and in fact, if we live by grace, it makes it much easier to do."

Matthew 18:18-20

"Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven - These instructions, given to Peter in Matthew 16:19, are given to all the apostles. See my notes here regarding this verse.)  In the immediate context, it is applied to the matter of dealing with a sinning member of the assembly.

in my name - claiming and using Christ’s authority

The Lord was not talking about the church in these verses. He was talking about the kingdom (vs 1, 3-4). And He was not speaking to all believers, but to the 12 disciples (v 1). However, the principles of forgiveness and dealing with sinning brothers can be applied today.  (See my posts regarding these verses here and here and here.) 

Matthew 18:15-17

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."

This teaching on forgiveness is probably tied to the teaching on humility earlier in the chapter — Don't think you are greater than your brother; don’t do anything to cause him to sin; and, if he sins against you, forgive him.

against you - not in some manuscripts, so the Lord could have been referring to more general sins and not just those against a given individual

gained - "In considering our Lord’s use of the word 'gained' here, it is very interesting to trace it through the New Testament. It is a commercial word, a word of the market place. It is a word which is used to characterize the processes by which a man accumulates wealth. The use of the word in this connection, so far as the sinning brother is concerned, recognizes loss. A man who has sinned is in certain senses lost; when he is restored he is gained, and the gain is interpreted by the context." (Morgan)

by the evidence of two or three witnesses - taken from Deuteronomy 19:15

"An ancient law (Deut. 19:15) for the purpose of reconciliation." (Ryrie)

Gentile - more evidence that the Lord was talking to Jews only in this passage (although the principle in verses 15-17 is universal — Leviticus 19:17; Galatians 6:1; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19). The Lord was NOT teaching about a future institution, the Christian church. He would not have said, in essence, "After the resurrection, I will establish a church among the Gentiles. In that church, if a sinner refuses to admit his sin, treat him like a Gentile." It's the audience, not the principle, I’m pointing out here. Jesus was talking to a Jewish audience (His apostles) about the kingdom, although, as I’ve just mentioned, the principle also applies in the church.

church = assembly (as always) - not referring to the still-future body of Christ church but to any assembly of believers (in the immediate context, an assembly of Jewish believers)

Matthew 18:11-14

"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

Verse 11 isn’t in many manuscripts, but it does appear in Luke 19:10.

Ironside's take on verse 14 is rather interesting. I’m not sure if I agree or not.

"Verse 14 gives the assurance that all children dying [before] coming to years of accountability are forever saved through the work of Christ. It is not the Father's will that any of them perish; and inasmuch as their wills are not set against the will of God we may be certain they are with Christ in the Father’s house." (Ironside)

I believe this passage must be understood in the context of the kingdom and what would (and will) occur between this teaching by the Lord and the beginning of the kingdom — the tribulation.

"Christ went on to show the twelve that He rejoiced over and loved the one who came to faith in Himself. He used the figure of a man who had a hundred sheep, one of which was lost (vs. 12-14). He searched until he found the sheep that had strayed. When he found it, he rejoiced over it. Christ’s heart was satisfied through the faith that this man had placed in His person … Christ searched for what was lost because 'your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost' (v.13). If the twelve shared the heart of Christ, they would have love for those who came to Him." (Pentecost)

Matthew 18:7-10

"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven."

woe - the prophetic condemnation to death

Verses 8-9 repeat the Lord’s instructions from Matthew 5:29-30.

see the face = are in the immediate presence

Verse 10 — "For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." —has often confused me. I’m still not sure I’ve figured it out. The commentaries are of two minds. Here’s Gaebelein:

"At the first glance it would seem as if these little ones have angels in heaven. There is a passage in Acts 12 which is the key to solve the difficulty here. When Peter, rescued by an angel, led forth miraculously from the prison house, knocked at the door of the praying assembly and Rhoda maintained that Peter stood outside, they said, 'It is his angel.' They believed that Peter had suffered death and that his angel stood outside. What does 'angel' mean in this passage? It must mean the departed spirit of Peter. This fact throws light on the passage before us. If these little ones, who belong to the kingdom of heaven, depart, their disembodied spirits behold the Father’s fact in heaven; in other words, they are saved." (Gaebelein)

I’m not sure I agree, because the passage in Acts isn’t really much connected to this one. There are plenty of other places in Scripture where angel means angel. I don’t see any reason to pick out that particular passage to explain this one. I also doubt very much that there are children in heaven, not because children can’t be saved (I believe they can) but because I don’t think they remain children for eternity.

Now Pentecost:

"Look up from earth to heaven; those representative, it may be guardian, angels nearest to God, are not those of deepest knowledge of God’s counsel and commands, but those of simple, humble grace and faith … Even that which is little and looked down on by people is under the watch-care of God, and He assigns His angels to guard those who have trusted Him." (Pentecost)

And Ryrie:

"Apparently children have guardian angels (Ps 91:11; Acts 12:15), as do all of God's people (Heb 1:14)." (Ryrie)

These didn’t entirely satisfy me either. I’ve been taught that guardian angels were for Israel alone. Is this really what the Lord was referring to?

Kurth's explanation makes the most sense to me:

"I think the Word of God works on many different levels. I think the Lord was talking about actual children, and how their innocence insures their salvation before they come to the age of accountability, and [of] the faith that little children are able to express once they do come to that age, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

"But when the Lord 'called a little child' (Matthew18:2), that phrase 'little child' (v.4-5) is symbolic of His little flock, whom He called “little children” (John 13:33 cf. 1 John 2:1,12-13,18,28; 3:7,18; 4:4; 5:21), for as people who exhibited child-like faith in Him, theirs is the kingdom of heaven as well as [it is for] the innocent.

"As for 'their angels,' Hebrews 1:14 says of angels, 'are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?' Well, little children and believers are the heirs of salvation, and so I believe that each one in Israel had their own angel. Remember, there are well over 100 million angels (Revelation 5:11).

"But there is no evidence in Paul’s epistles that angels have a ministry to members of the Body of Christ as they did to Israel. All Paul says about them is that they are learning about God’s grace from us (Ephesians 3:10).

"The Jews were 'the children of Israel,' and God treated them like children, giving them a law filled with 'thou shalts' and 'thou shalt nots.' That’s how you treat children! Children must be 'under tutors and governors' (Galatians 4:1,2). Well, if the Law was their tutor, angels were the governors that ministered to those heirs of salvation.

"But as Paul goes on to say in Galatians 4, we have received 'the adoption of sons' (v.5) and so we are sons, not children. Because of that, I don’t think we have an individual angel assigned to us as the Jews did." (Kurth)

Matthew 18:1-6

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

This account also appears in Mark 9:33-50 and Luke 9:46-50.

This talk may have taken place in Peter’s house, and the child may have been a member of Peter's family, but we aren’t told and so it isn’t important.

Who is greatest - This question reflects the apostle’s confusion after the Lord’s revelation of His approaching death. The kingdom He taught didn’t mesh with their understanding and expectations of what a kingdom should look like — and their lofty roles in it.

turn - from their expectations of exalted positions in the kingdom to humility and faith (Matt 11:11)

"An active and voluntary turning from sin." (Ryrie)

become like children - humble, responsive to Christ’s call to come, obedient, trusting, utterly dependent

"The sense if 'whoever humbles himself until he becomes as this little child—exhibiting trust, openness, and eagerness to learn.'  These are the childlike qualities that constitute greatness." (Ryrie)

receives = by way of giving hospitality

Their service (v 5) to the King should be service to the humble and meek, not concern for lofty positions.

sin = lit. "cause to stumble"

"Leads into sin." (Ryrie)

millstone = a great stone that had to be turned by a beast of burden

"The milling of grain was done by grinding it between two stones, each about 18 in. (46 cm.) in diameter and 3-4 inc. (7.6-10.2 cm.) thick.  The upper millstone was turned by a donkey walking in a circle." (Ryrie)